Cocoa Loco started when Sarah Payne took a career break from her computer programming job to look after her children. She discovered that she was very good at making brownies. They were always in great demand when she went round to her friends’ houses. So one day she said to her husband Rory, “I’m going… Read more

Could one of these be you in 2018? You’re thinking of giving up the 9-to-5 to work for yourself You’re already running your business from home and want to grow If so, you need moral support and inspiration. People around you who’ve been there, get it and want to share what they have learned so… Read more

I chat to people for a living. On the surface, it might look like any other business conversation. But underneath, the cogs of my brain are whirring madly. I call it ‘multi-thinking’. It keeps me on my toes and it gives you new insights about the value of your company and your work: My multi-thinking… Read more

I’ve interviewed an eye watering range of business people over the years, in mainstream and niche sectors. The group that stands out is the one made of ‘Founder-MDs’ – the women and men who’ve forged their own businesses from ideas they’re committed to. They’ve had gut-wrenching moments along the way, sometimes when an idea hits… Read more

The values you bring to your work were shaped long ago. Well before you applied for your first job or set yourself up in business. And if you’re like the ‘amazing and driven’ person below, you’re probably taking your values for granted. Don’t! As Mebrak’s story shows, your values help you to stand out from… Read more

Remember those exciting, perhaps nerve-racking, entrepreneurial ‘firsts’? Your first pitch? Your first networking event? Your first employee? Remember the thoughts before you embarked on those ‘firsts’? Perhaps they went along the lines of, “How the hell do you do this? How do you do that?” That’s the sort of thing Rob Forkan was saying to… Read more